The Greenbelt 2018 Book List – suggested reading

Summer holidays are on the way, and we thought you might like some top tips of some books you could read in the coming weeks to set you up ready for Greenbelt 2018, Acts of the Imagination. People get ready…

Pussy Riot, Riot Days A dream-like, stream of consciousness canter through one of the bravest and most creative forms of resistance in Putin’s Russia from one of the founders of the Pussy Riot collective Maria Alyokhina.

Vicky Beeching, Undivided A beautifully written, heartbreakingly hopeful memoir of Vicky’s journey through worship super-stardom through the reaction to her coming out and her reconciling her identity with her faith and calling.

June Sarpong, Diversify An evidence-based look at how embracing diversity makes sense, whichever way you look at it, and how diversity can bring huge social and economic benefits to communities and society as a whole.

Simon Mayo, Mad Blood StirringAn amazing novel from a Greenbelt favourite broadcaster and writer which turns a footnote in history into a compelling tale about Shakespeare, The Plague and Gospel Music. Already with its film rights sold, the story has blockbuster written all over it.

Paula Gooder, PhoebeThe New Testament scholar shows why imagination is a vital tool in interpreting the Bible, lifting words off the page and bringing them to life. In it Paula cries out to a church in desperate need of a renewed imagination in reading the Bible well. Phoebe is the story of an overlooked woman in Pauline Christianity.

Kate Raworth, Doughnut EconomicsKate’s acclaimed idea of ‘Doughnut Economics’ has been widely influential among sustainable development thinkers, progressive businesses and political activists the world over. It maps a wholly different way of thinking about wealth and distribution. One that makes sense.

Lynne Segal, Radical Happiness: Moments of Collective JoyIn her latest book, old-school lefty feminist academic has written a poignant book that all those who believe in the power of community, of the group, of the movement cannot afford to ignore. Because that’s where true joy and happiness is located.

Joanna Blythman’s Swallow This & What to EatRebecca Stott’s In Days Of RainJennie Hogan’s This Is My BodyJon McGregor’s Reservoir 13Anna Kessel’s Eat Sweat Play: How Sport Can Change Your LifeDawn Foster’s Lean OutJack Monroe’s Cooking On A Bootstrap Robyn Travis’s Mama Can’t Raise No ManNadim Nassar’s The Culture Of GodRoman Kraznaric’s The Lost Art OF Seizing The DaySue Turton’s This Book Can (Help You) Change The WorldRabbi Jonathan Wittenberg’s Things My Dog Has Taught Me – About Being a Better Human